Chapter 14: One Hundred Thousand Per Piece, and a Divination for You While I'm At It

Yang Fan first went to find a shop selling talisman paper to buy some new yellow paper, along with brushes and ink.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man in his fifties named Sun Zheng. Seeing her buy these items, he asked enthusiastically, "Little girl, are you buying these to draw them yourself?"

Yang Fan nodded, gathering the yellow paper, brushes, and ink she had selected. "How much for all of these?"

"You're missing one thing," Sun Zheng turned around and grabbed an exquisitely packaged box from the shelves behind him. "If you want to draw talismans, how can you do it without cinnabar?"

Influenced by the Taoist culture of Sanqing Palace, many people harbored dreams of becoming masters. Consequently, people frequently came to the shop to buy talisman paper, brushes, ink, and cinnabar to go home and tinker with drawing talismans themselves.

Every time those people came to buy supplies, Sun Zheng would strongly recommend this cinnabar, tricking them into believing that only this high-quality cinnabar could significantly increase the success rate of their talismans.

Basically, everyone who came to the shop to buy these things would be swindled by Sun Zheng in this manner, and then they would confusedly pay for something that looked like high-quality cinnabar on the surface but actually contained ordinary red pigment inside.

"Little girl, drawing talismans definitely requires cinnabar," Sun Zheng also treated Yang Fan like one of those uninitiated people to be swindled. "This is a new shipment of high-quality cinnabar. Do you want to take a box back with you?"

Yang Fan refused. "No need, I only need these."

She could draw talismans without brushes or paper; in fact, she didn't even need yellow paper or brushes—she could use any pen or paper to draw them. Buying brushes and yellow paper was merely to make herself look professional, and drawing them on paper allowed people to take them away.

Sun Zheng continued his pitch. "Little girl, you don't understand. You must use cinnabar for talismans to be effective, otherwise, no matter how you draw, you won't succeed."

"Look at the talisman I drew here using this cinnabar. Beautiful, isn't it?"

He pulled a finished talisman from a box in a nearby cabinet. "This Warding Talisman of mine was drawn using this very cinnabar. Feel it—can you sense the spiritual energy on the paper?"

"I can't," Yang Fan exposed the truth expressionlessly. "You used red ink. It's not real cinnabar."

"What red ink? This was drawn with cinnabar!"

Being exposed to her face, Sun Zheng's expression turned sour. "What do you know? This is a Soul-Calming Talisman drawn by a Taoist Priest from Sanqing Palace!"

"This is genuine talisman paper, worth hundreds of thousands!"

Originally, he was selling fakes, and she hadn't wanted to bother with him.

But hearing him use the name of Sanqing Palace to commit fraud, Yang Fan immediately became displeased.

"You call this a real talisman? Then what do you call what I'm about to do?"

She picked up a brush from a nearby table, pulled out a sheet of yellow paper, and began to draw.

Seeing her movements, Sun Zheng let out a disdainful snort, but in the next second, his eyes suddenly widened.

He stared at Yang Fan's hand in utter shock.

Her brushstrokes carried a golden light; with only a few strokes, she drew a genuine Soul-Calming Talisman. As the final stroke was completed, a flash of golden light erupted from the yellow paper before quickly returning to normal.

Yang Fan placed her drawn talisman next to Sun Zheng's and asked, "Look. Which one is real and which one is fake?"

Sun Zheng snapped back to his senses and cautiously picked up the talisman Yang Fan had drawn. The moment the paper touched his hand, he felt an immediate difference; the runes on the paper were vivid and lifelike, shimmering with a faint golden light.

Th-this... this is a real talisman!

To be able to draw such high-quality talismans so casually—he had encountered a true master!

Sun Zheng's attitude underwent a 180-degree turn instantly, his tone becoming fawning. "My apologies, Master. I was blind and failed to recognize a great talent. Please forgive me."

Yang Fan leaned one hand on the counter and took back the talisman from Sun Zheng's hand. When the talisman was taken away, he still looked reluctant, staring longingly at the paper in her hand.

The quality of this talisman was countless times better than the ones he had hidden away.

"Didn't you just say that drawing talismans requires your shop's high-quality cinnabar?" Yang Fan's expression was half-smiling, mocking him. "And that this was a real talisman drawn by a Sanqing Palace Taoist?"

How was he supposed to know he would run into a real master? If he had known Yang Fan was a true master, he certainly wouldn't have brought these things out to embarrass himself.

Sun Zheng laughed awkwardly a few times and silently put away the box of fake cinnabar and the fake talisman paper, hurriedly changing the subject. "Master, are you selling this talisman?"

"You want this talisman of mine?" Yang Fan waved the talisman in front of Sun Zheng's eyes, and his eyes involuntarily followed her movements.

Sun Zheng nodded hurriedly, his eyes gleaming. "I want to buy this talisman of yours. I wonder if you are willing to sell it?"

Selling a talisman of this quality would definitely earn him a fortune.

Yang Fan: "I can sell it, but it depends on how much you offer."

It just so happened that her purpose for coming was to make money, whether through selling talismans or performing divinations.

Sun Zheng tested the waters. "Five thousand yuan. Would that be acceptable?"

"Five thousand yuan?" Yang Fan smiled playfully, though the warmth didn't reach her eyes. "Are you trying to tip a beggar?"

One had to know that in the past, her talismans were worth more than ten thousand pieces of gold. This man was offering only five thousand, thinking he could swindle her.

Sun Zheng's expression froze for a moment. He steadied his nerves. "Then... ten thousand yuan?"

Yang Fan looked at him without speaking, her expression growing even colder.

Seeing her like this, Sun Zheng's heart grew serious.

Originally, he thought that since Yang Fan was a young girl, her skill likely came from studying in seclusion in some mountain, and she was ignorant of worldly affairs. He had planned to buy talismans from her at a low price and resell them at a high price to make a massive profit.

He hadn't expected her to be someone who was not easily fooled. A hint of seriousness appeared in Sun Zheng's eyes.

"Then, how much do you think is appropriate?"

He threw the question back to Yang Fan.

Yang Fan stared at him until his back felt cold before slowly speaking, "One hundred thousand. And I'll give you a divination for free."

Sun Zheng froze. "What?"

Yang Fan said, "You have a daughter. She is twenty-one years old, attending university in Shanghai, and she graduates this year, correct?"

Sun Zheng nodded blankly.

"Your daughter is going to a mountain village in the Southwest to teach. You told her that while on the train, she must not speak to a woman wearing a red coat; otherwise, your daughter will go on this trip and never return."

Seeing that his Children Palace was recessed, Yang Fan had performed a quick calculation and discovered that his daughter would be kidnapped by human traffickers to a remote mountainous area, eventually meeting a tragic death there.

With a *boom*, Sun Zheng's mind went blank. It felt as if all the strength had been drained from his body, and he slumped against the counter.

His daughter indeed was going to the Southwest mountains to teach. She was originally supposed to go the day after tomorrow, but just an hour ago, his daughter had messaged him saying their group had decided to cancel their flight and take the train instead, leaving tomorrow to enjoy the scenery along the way.

Meeting a woman in red on the train and never returning—wasn't that saying his daughter would be kidnapped!

In an instant, the tragic fates of kidnapped victims from the internet flooded his mind.

The color drained completely from Sun Zheng's face. Looking at Yang Fan as if grasping at a life-saving straw, he cried out, "Master, please, save my daughter!"

(End of Chapter)